Presenting Your Work

Click Here To Upload a new resource

Preparing a Great Poster

The real power of poster sessions is from the questions and discussions - the poster itself is just a hook. And try to aim for particular questions to arise, possibly even from particular people (e.g. aim it directly at Prof Give-Me-A-Job if that serves your purpose). And only put information on there that you really understand, can speak intelligently about, and ultimately can defend. The obvious starting point is to know your context: Where is it to be presented? - conference (and what sort?), competition, or..? Are there specific rules and conventions that apply? How will it be presented? - one amongst many? Lots of space or a little? Lighting? Thoroughfare or dedicated space? How much space can your poster take-up?, i.e. how big will it be? Why do you want to present it? This is absolutely critical in terms of working out what you want to get out of the process. Is it to ... read more

5 Top Tips - Making Your Poster Amazing

Know your audience: Whether your audience are specialists or not will determine just how general the content needs to be. If in doubt always err on the side of caution and make it simple, then you can go into more detail at the session itself. Anticipate the display environment:If the poster session will be hot, crowded and short (i.e. less than an hour or so) use as few words and technical diagrams as possible. Use large titles and snappy wording to get people interested as they quickly pass by. If the poster will be displayed for a long period of time in a non-crowded environment then you can go into more detail and people who are interested can take the time to read it. Use eye-catching graphics: There are no rules against using images that you haven't taken yourself. Take a look on the web and maybe even invest a few pounds in a snappy image from an image library. Your poste... read more

Communicating your research to a non-specialist

If your research is important, then it is important to communicate it. (If it isn't important - why are you pursuing it?) And logically the more people you can communicate it to, the better. Within reason of course. For many of us the challenge is how to communicate what we regard as highly specialised knowledge, amassed over many years, in a manner that is succinct, accessible, non-patronising, and yet is true to the research we are actually pursuing - rather than being some dumbed-down parody of it. How then to do all of this? Clearly the answers will depend in part on the context, but some general approaches can be useful: Make sure you are clear on the essence of what it is you are trying to communicate. This can be a painful process, but you need to force yourself through it. I quite like the ultra-tough approach of telling it in a Hemmingway-esque 6-word story (sixwordstor... read more

Presentations for Inspiration

During my PhD I felt a little isolated. My research group was full of great people but our work was very diverse. We each used different techniques, different equipment, different chemicals and read different papers. We could discuss general principles but when it came to project / research specific advice we just weren't in a position to support each other. Then in my second year I got to present at my first (and only) conference outside of the UK - the European Student Colloid Conference in Sweden. I'd presented my work before but usually in very general environments such as departmental seminars where the audience and questions tend to also be quite high level rather than specifics. Being able to present work to a non-specialist audience is a key skill and one that all postgraduates need to develop, but sometimes you want to meet people who really understand what you are doing. ... read more

To conference and how to conference: these are the questions...

There are two big questions around presenting at conferences. 1. When, or even whether, you should present at a conference; and 2. If so, what should you aim to achieve..? (Which then leads to, How..?) I'll try to cover some of the main issues relating to these areas. 1. Should I take the plunge? Specifics about when, whether and what type of conference are hard to answer in general as standards and conventions vary vastly between disciplines and areas. However, there are still some general approaches: It is always worth canvassing opinions. The wider the pool of people you can speak to about the conference the better, including your supervisor, other advisors, post-docs, and doctoral researchers further on than you. But most crucially, it is important to press them for 'why' they are advising that you do, or to not do, whatever it is. You also need to be clear ab... read more

Conference Dos and Don'ts

Do... ... Get tech-savvy with your preparation. In this digital age a great way to get ahead before a conference is to check out the social media. What are people saying about the conference on twitter and facebook? Does the event have a hashtag that you can follow for updates? Can you make any connections with attendees or start conversations even before you go? (Google Blogsearch is useful for finding references to the event and LinkedIn is good for reading people's professional profiles). ...be thankful for the opportunity and take it with both hands! If you have a paper in the conference you have already achieved so much. Be proud rather than stressed or worried and remember that you can add this experience to your CV and to your (hopefully) growing list of papers. If you go with a positive attitude the conference will be much more fruitful. ...put in lots of practic... read more

Conference Travel Checklist

If you haven't yet been to many conferences it can be difficult to know exactly what take to make the most of your time away. Of course, we all know to pack enough pairs of socks and our presentation notes but what about those tricky things that you always wish you'd remembered - here's a short list that might help you! 1. Power plug adapter - if you are going abroad this is vital! Adaptors are readily available in supermarkets and DIY stores at home but make sure you have the right one and that it can transfer the correct voltage for you laptop etc. 2. Alarm clock/watch with alarm/phone with alarm - hotels don't always have them and you don't want to be late for any presentations, meetings or those essential networking breakfasts! 3. Business cards - these are really important if you want to make the most of the networking opportunities and ensure that t... read more

Resources

Filters: Library_article Articles